The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are preparing joint measures to train nationals for the job market to reduce dependence on expatriates who send home $38 billion annually, reported the Gulf News on Saturday.

As part of this program, the labor and social affairs and education ministries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE met in Bahrain recently to draw up a common program, said the paper.

The Saudi-based Arab Society for Human Resource Management (ASHRM) plans, as part of the program, to hold its next international conference in conjunction with the Human Resources Middle East (HRME) 2000 from October 3rd to 6th.

The theme of the conference will be 'Shaping the new millennium through human resources alliance with IT'.

The HRME 2000 would bring the best possible human resource equipment and expertise to equip the people of the region to build an independent, secure and prosperous future, a GCC official told the paper.

The official said that "teaching is a key issue within the GCC states and thanks to the efforts so far taken, the dependence on foreign labor is being drastically reduced to make way for a young and rapidly expanding population which is expected to double by the year 2025."

He said governments of the Gulf states are united in their policies to develop their human resources potential aimed at creating a skilled workforce and meeting the challenging demands.

He pointed out that in 1998, more than $12 billion was spent on education through the region. Of this, $4.2 billion was spent on training and this figure is expected to reach $5 billion this year, he added - Albawaba.com